VI ☛ VIDEO (backdated to the 10th)

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VI ☛ VIDEO (backdated to the 10th)

[ the camera turns on, and it's facing away from the speaker and navigating vaguely through a house. guess who had to go get her phone just for this. ] Okay, y'know what's seriously just - super not fair to a ghost with literally no way to actually eat?

[ she's entering the kitchen as she says that, and now the camera lifts to show this handsome fuck. it's a little shaky, ghost cameraman at the wheel here, but whatever, roll with it. ]

Do you have any idea how long it's been since I've had cake?

[ she lets that question sink in for a second or two. then: ]

Okay, somebody needs to get over here and help me cannibalize this baller right here, before I just. Drool forever. With no actual saliva, so it's not actually drooling, kind of like when women say they popped a boner - whatever, not the point.

I - [ a pause and the camera lowers. are those sniffing sounds? yeah, those are sniffing sounds. ] Yeah, I can't even smell it. I have no sense of smell right now - who wants this? And, like, doesn't mind if I haunt you while you eat it? I promise it won't be as weirdo-creepy as it sounds.

[ and the camera shuts off. ]

[ later that day, action for household! ]

[ whichever room jai happens to walk into next (excluding, like... bathrooms/bedrooms etc), he'll find sally waiting, hands clasped with the knuckles pseudo-patiently covering a poorly-suppressed grin.

once he spots her there, she drops her hands to say: ] I brought you something. [ something she seems super pleased to have found. are you ready for this? ]

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You can haunt me if you want.

[No, he doesn't realize how off that sounds and no, he didn't find anything creepy about Sally's turn of phrase. Richie's reply is straightforward but earnest, finding more empathy for a ghost he's never met than he has for most people.]

Really? [ it's a little quieter - there's something genuinely kind of touched by the offer. ]

I've never met a ghost before. [meaning: "I'd like to"] You'll have to find someone else to finish the cake though.

[ at this point, the cake's just a side note anyway. because people don't just up and offer to be haunted, especially people who aren't already personally invested in her happiness. so: ]

Where are you right now?

At my house in Southtown. 15. You can come when you want. [Nope, not even gonna check with the roommates first.]

[ the video turns off abruptly, and if he gives it like - five seconds? she's appearing in the living room of house 15.

sally glances around to see if he's in sight. (he never specified which room he's in, after all.) if she spots him, she grins and lifts her hand in a finger-wiggle wave. ] Hi, I'm Sally. The ghost? [ as if she could be anyone else, just appearing in his house like that. ]

[Richie was expecting Sally, but not quite so soon. He's sitting on a worn couch in the living room, stiff and upright. His expressions are often limited, and his only show of surprise is a slight widening of the eyes in awe and adjusting his glasses.]

I wasn't going to forget. [a small smile, one that he hopes looks friendly] You can sit down if you want. If ghosts sit.

[ oh, she didn't think he'd forget. it's more that she didn't really show her face in the video, so she figured she'd make sure the dots were connected. you never know, with people who... y'know, aren't as used to supernatural shit.

at the offer, she wastes no time in heading over and sinking down at the other end of the couch, tucking one leg up under her. she doesn't actually look too terribly ghost-like - no pale face, no hollowed eyes, no death wounds. just a girl in a sundress and a slightly-oversized leather jacket. ]

So do I get to find out who I'm even haunting, or are we just gonna keep the mystery alive? [ she's totally teasing - not that a name wouldn't be useful in contexts like 'where were you?' 'oh i was over haunting (blank)' ]

What if I like mystery? [He's teasing, mostly. It's difficult to remember that people don't know him here. There's no warrants, no bounty. As someone who has been a professional thief his entire life, identity was something to hold close. You didn't give away any more information than necessary.

He's obviously staring, attempting to find any sort of visible sign that Sally is indeed a ghost. He believes her, but someone who seems so real isn't what tv had told him to expect.]

I'm Richie. As if in habit he holds out his hand, before only slightly pulling it away, leaving it to hover in midair.] Sorry. I don't know if you do that sort of thing.

[ her head tilts a little, and she reaches out to shake his hand - or make motions to, at least. what actually happens involves is that her hand slides into his as if nothing's touching him at all - not a hand anyway, more like the slightest brush of contact and a faint chill. then the edges of her hand disappear into his.

with the slightest grin tugging at the corners of her mind: ] I don't actually have to shake it, do I?

[Richie's eyes widen, becoming even larger behind the lenses. At the chill his lips quirk into a slight, awestruck smile, and he looks from the outline of her hand, to her face, and back again.]

You don't have to shake anything. [Though he's quiet, the awe still manages to filter into his voice, as if happy to tell her he doesn't plan on restricting her with those kinds of limitations.] Are you actually using the couch right now? [If it were in his nature to be more of a motormouth he would be asking all kinds of questions regarding solid objects. Instead he limits himself to one at a time.]

Don't ask me how, [ she says with a slight head-shake, her grin broadening a little, which is basically a confirmation. and now sally's looking down at the couch around her because: ] Like - I don't know if I could fall through if I tried.

[ this is great, seriously. not once in her life - or... death, i guess - has anyone ever been this thrilled about her being a ghost. she likes it. she'll definitely be haunting more often. ]

[Richie doesn't smile often, but somehow Sally is achieving the impossible. Not only is she interesting, her general demeanor draws Richie in. He's not used to having face to face company that isn't his brother without scaring them off and it's... not as painful as he would have expected. Sally is likely the exception to the rule and he's not about to become a sudden social butterfly.]

Is there any kind of consistency?

Edited 2014-10-02 06:07 (UTC)

[ sally has that effect on people. except when she's being irritating, but whatever - not the point.

consistency? she never really thought about it. ]

I mean... [ she starts slowly, brow knitting in thought. ] I can't walk through walls or tables or any of that. [ hmmmm... ] Maybe it's only stuff that's bigger than I am? I mean, except for like, people.

So if you can't walk through walls, how did you get in here? Is it more of a teleportation thing?

[The more she answers, the more he wants to ask. Richie finds himself reaching toward her hand again as if to fully grasp the fact that she's not made of solid flesh and bone, unsure if the attempt at shaking hands was something he had made up.]

Can I?

[He doesn't look at Sally, not wanting to meet her eyes if she says no.]

Yeah, like - I guess 'mind over matter's like ten times easier when you don't... actually... have any matter. [ #science. ] I just decide to be somewhere, and then I'm there.

[ now he's reaching again, and with a slight head-tilt, she scoots forward a couple of feet so they're not reaching from opposite ends of the couch. and she lifts her hand up to meet his, palm-up as if to match his own downward palm despite that they can't actually touch. ]

Can you decide to take someone with you?

[He doesn't shy away, which is the typical response for anyone other than Seth moving closer. Instead he leans in, moving his palm alongside hers. Instead of the barest of touch there's nothing at all. Richie tilts his arm at the elbow and his hand moves forward, receiving the same chill and disappearance as before. He looks from his own hand to Sally's eyes, hesitant to move in the event that it might mean she vanishes altogether.]

I wish. [ the rest of her reply doesn't come, not yet anyway. she's watching their hands, even if it's pretty much the same as she's seen a dozen times before. she doesn't vanish, though - people can walk right through her without making her disappear. iron, is what dissipates her. that's the only thing save for being outright shredded that can get rid of her for any real amount of time.

her eyes lift to his for a second, then drop to her lap. dryly, belatedly, she finishes her sentiment. ] You have no idea how many people have died in this stupid place because I can't take someone with me.

[a frown, trying to piece everything together] I didn't know that people could die here. The Box seems like to was made to be hell. Once you're in there's no use for permanent death.

No, yeah, dying is kind of the regional pastime. [ meanwhile, she's gonna let him mess with the 'look, i can stick my hand right through your hand!' for as long as he wants, though she does lean forward a little to prop her elbow on her knee. she has no actual arm, and yet her arm is fully capable of getting tired. talk about psychosomatic, right? ]

I mean, they totally come back, but that's not the point.

[Yeah, he's totally going to take advantage of that. This whole meeting a ghost thing is still new. Annnd there go four fingers into Sally's palm.]

When people come back, are they like you?

[ she wiggles her fingers a little, more to trip him out than in any kind of objection. ]

What, like a ghost? Nope, that one's pretty much just me. I think it's because I did the whole 'ghost' thing once before?

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VI ☛ VIDEO (backdated to the 10th)

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